Kerr Cassidy
KD Cassidy is a 22 year old carpenter from West Hollywood, California though she has no real roots there and too much history to call the place home. She is the youngest of two children, both with different fathers and the same dream-driven, ain't-no-mountain-high-enough, shoot-for-the-stars, mother. While her older sister was born for stardom, Kerr was certainly not and spent as much time as she could at her grandfather's farm in Nixa, MO. She is a runaway and high school drop out and was, until his death in late November of 2011, an apprentice carpenter under her grandfather's tutelage. History Charlotte Cassidy was never meant to be a mother. She had a significantly higher calling. Lotte was meant to be a star. She was a young actress from Nixa, Missouri that moved to Hollywood to make a name for herself. She was driven and beautiful, not exactly talented but persistent. She pounded the pavement with the best of them… And then her dreams were pulled out from under her. At barely twenty years old a bit of fun and a broken heart led to Felice. The child's father wasn’t in the picture but that didn’t faze Lotte. Motherhood didn’t suite her but Felice was loved… She was loved the same way a pet or favorite toy would be loved. She was a prop. A doll that was stuffed into frilly dresses and dragged to casting calls and photo shoots. Lotte waited tables to make ends meet and support her baby. It meant that she couldn’t focus on her acting. But she could focus on Felice. That woman made Momma Rose look like a kitten. Lotte was aggressive and domineering, parading her toddler around like a show dog. What little money she managed to scrape together went into Felice’s glorious career. Costumes. Dance lessons. Singing lessons. She’d do anything to see her baby land a roll. That’s how Felice wound up in a nationwide juice commercial and Lotte wound up pregnant''again''. It was a dream come true. Just like that the micromanaging stage mom suddenly doubled her chances at having a star. It also a doubled her spending and plummeted the small family well below the poverty line. Kerr was a supreme disappointment to Lotte. She grew into a klutz, performing perfectly in her room and then falling all over herself once she was put on stage. Kerr had more fun behind a camera than in front of it. She just wasn’t star material and the older she got, the more resentful Lotte became of her ungainly daughter that froze in terror instead of running her lines. The more she pushed Kerr to perform, she more the kid dug her heels in and resisted. Kerr couldn’t, or wouldn’t, dance, tumble, sing, yodel, juggle, or even speak on demand. Lotte didn’t think her youngest was pulling her weight and was rather vocal about it. When she couldn’t deliver Kerr was mocked or compared to Felice in an attempt to goad her into making mommy proud but there was no rivalry between the two girls. Felice’s clear superiority didn’t bother Kerr and Kerr's easy going nature made it impossible for Felice to rub it in. If anything, Kerr was her sister’s biggest fan. It didn’t really bother her that her mother’s time and meager paychecks went into Felice. Kerr didn’t want the attention or the pressure and both were in full supply for her lovely older sister. Lotte was living vicariously through Felice. Kerr only escaped because she was ‘talentless’. She was too laid back, more interesting in reading and drawing on everything in sight. On several occasions Kerr was dumped back in Nixa to stay with her grandfather while Lotte focused on her 'good' daughter. Kerr loved it. Her grandfather was a carpenter that worked off his ranch and he was the first person to stick a stanley knife and block of wood into her hand and told her to have it. Unlike her attention-starved mother and ego-driven sister, the hunk of wood had no demands of her. They were simple and completely unemotional and in Kerr's dramatic world that was extremely appealing. Just like that she had found her calling. But the time in Nixa couldn't last forever. Eventually Kerr had to return home. Her quiet daughter was absolutely mind boggling for Lotte and she pushed harder to make Kerr embrace the life of a starving artist. To avoid her mother’s histrionics Kerr got into the habit of disappearing. She’d spend days out of sight and, consequently, out of mind. It was just easier that way but Kerr didn’t bear her mother or Felice any ill will. Quite the opposite, she just enjoyed the quiet while it lasted. She took refuge in school and in the easy comfort that facts and formulas offered. She grew more distant from her small family and by the time high school started, she was hardly spending any time at home, wherever ‘home’ happened to be at the time. At thirteen she was already ducking out to spend days at a time at friends’ houses or crashing on couches, in cars, anywhere but home. Kerr lied about her age so that she could work and hid what money she could. She had to and if she didn’t she got to watch her meager earnings disappear into the black hole that was Felice’s future. It was during her Freshman year that Kerr decided to call it a day. Never overly social before, Kerr had become ever more passive in her own life. A fourteen year old Kerr took her savings and what little she owned (not even enough to fill her backpack) and ran to the only safe place she knew. Her grandfather's farm in Nixa. She only saw her sister and mother twice after that: once when she was sixteen to have her mother sign the emancipation papers and again at the hearing that made her an independent minor under the supervision of her grandfather. Kerr's intention was to get as far from Lotte and Felice as possible. Halfway aross country seemed just about far enough and she settled in on her grandfather's farm near seamlessly. It was hardly the lap of luxury but Kerr was comfortable and familiar with a no frills lifestyle. Despite protests from her grandfather, Kerr dropped out and got her GED. It allowed her to work fulltime instead of wasting her time with sitting in class. College was more structure and coin than she was willing to put up with and Kerr took an apprenticeship with her grandfather. She was one of several young people who worked there learning the trade and Kerr grew closer to them than she had ever been with her real family. Her grandfather's death shortly after she turned twenty shook her world up yet again and Kerr watched the shop and everything she had worked so hard for get sold off piece by piece. It was beyond difficult to watch and rather than stick around she packed what she could and bailed. Kerr did her absolute best to stay out of California over the years. She had no desire to share the same air as her micro-managing mother and arrogant older sister but LA was calling. The beach and the sun... It wasn't Nixa but it would do. She's settling in, living out of a crappy motel and looking for work. Personality Well Meaning: While not exactly warm or open, there is not a mean bone in this woman's body. Her intentions are always helpful, honorable, and sincere. She might have a tendency to fail spectacularly and bungle every situation, but Kerr's heart is usually in the right place. Kerr isn’t necessarily looking for approval or friends, or anything as obvious as that she's simply afraid of who she would become if she practiced apathy. Kerr is a bit sardonic but she does care (followed by immediate denial) and goes out of her way for others. Whether or not she obtains her desired outcome is another story entirely but she inevitably gives it the ol' college try. Independent:'' For someone who spent the most of her childhood being micro-managed, Kerr is distinctly independent and strives for self-sufficiency. She despises being coerced or ordered about, preferring to stand on her own or not at all. The implication that she can’t take care of herself is offensive to her and Kerr's response to being managed almost boarders on belligerence. Even when she is in over her head, Kerr is unwilling to admit it. She would rather fall on her own than accept help. This has led to a distaste and distrust for authority that has gotten her in trouble. '''Ditzy:' While Kerr is rather clever academically, she has a tendency to come off as an idiot, especially when people find out that she dropped out of high school. Never mind that she was sixteen when she got her GED and went into a practical vocation. Despite her very fact driven and logical mind, Kerr suffers from a complete lack of common sense. She is the sort of person to get so engrossed in a project that she'd forget to eat, or absently walk into traffic without looking. It's not so much a disinterest in her own well being, but rather an unintentional failure to take care of herself. She's bubble-headed. Sarcasm and innuendo go right over her head and Kerr tends to wear a chronic confused expression. She trusts blindly and without a second thought, and it doesn't even dawn on her that someone might be lying or taking advantage or her gullibility. Her naivete is an endless source of embarrassment, but she doesn't seem to learn. Appearance Small in stature and a bit on the scrawny side, Kerr doesn’t look like much. In fact, she’s easily overlooked and that’s exactly the way she prefers it. Her hazel eyes are massive and expressive, dominating her otherwise delicate features and are framed by long, dark lashes. If she's lying, amused, infuriated, or bored her eyes will give her away every time. Thick and difficult to tame, her glossy, smokey-brown curls tumble to the middle of her back in a state of chronic disarray. Even when she yanks it back or stuffs it under a cap to keep it from falling in her face it’s determined to do as it pleases. Her efforts are for naught as it consistently tangles, knots, comes loose… basically does the exact opposite of what she intends. In defeat, she usually just lets her hair fall unbound to save herself the headache. Seemingly unable to hold any sort of tan, Ker is exceedingly fair skinned. To her extreme chagrin she’s petite, standing at a modest five-foot-two and weighing in at a respectable 127 pounds. She is slim framed, without much curvature, and muscular is not a word that anyone would associate with her. Kerr has a very subdued, simple style. She doesn't go out of her way to be tidy or in fashion and prefers clothes that she can be comfortable in. Her tried and true favorite is the comfort of t-shirts and jeans. She has a pair of boots that are well worn and well loved, though she has a very real habit of running around barefoot to ground herself. Makeup is used sparingly, if at all, and she doesn't really own any jewelry. She despises dresses and skirts and makes a point to never wear them. She's collected quite a few scars along her fingers and hand while working with her tools. She also has a glossy scar that runs up her abdomen from when she accidentally lit her shirt on fire with a Christmas candle when she was 14. Abilities *Forced into gymnastics, dance, music, karate, and acting classes, Kerr should be (in theory) very good at all of these things. The truth is, aside from piano, dance and very rudimentary tumbling skills, Kerr hasn't retained much of what she learned as a child. *Thanks to her grandfather's intervention, Kerr was taught a craft that didn't include performing like a trained seal in front of a mob. She is a carpenter and carver, able to do very detailed and artful work though there isn't much call for wooden finery. She's just as good building furniture and houses and has, over the years, lived in her construction projects just to keep out of the elements. *After learning that "Out of sight, out of mind" was more than just an old proverb, Kerr got very good at simply disappearing. If she doesn't want to be found, chances are she won't be. Family *'Gorman Cassidy' - Currently deceased. Before he died at the age of seventy-one, Gorman was a well respected (if a bit distant and abrasive) carpenter in Nixa, MO. Father of four, he and his late wife were Scottish immigrants from Netherley, Aberdeenshire. The pair of them were as encouraging and supportive as two parents could be. He worked hard to ensure that his family had everything they needed. The charming farmhouse where the family lived was built with his own two hands, as well as his woodshop right there on the sprawling Nixa property. He was a drinker, but not a cruel one, and never gave up his pipe, but they were endearing qualities instead of detrimental ones. When Kerr's mother proved a trainwreck of a parent, Gorman all but raised his granddaughter, giving Kerr a stable environment when she needed one. Gruff as he was, Gorman taught a fair few people his trade but his workshop was sold off by the bank after his passing. *Charlotte Cassidy - Self-involved, self-important, and self-indulgent, Lotte is all about herself and how she can make her''self'' a star. Even if that means living vicariously through her children. She left her family home at eighteen to move to Hollywood and make something of herself. Her career was short lived and when she gave birth to her oldest daughter, Felice, Lotte put all of her hyperactive focus on her. She expected perfection, charm, talent, and poise. She received all of it and more in Felice. Unfortunately her second daughter was far less... accommodating. Her dreams and aspirations were wasted and the girl was a source of endless embarrassment for Lotte though the stupid child didn't seem to realize it. When the girl disappeared into the life that Lotte had tried so hard to leave behind, she took it very personally. She signed the emancipation papers, insulted and furious. Her relationship with her daughter is stormy at best. *'Noah Teller' - Just one more in a long line of Specials. Not inherently powerful or ambitious, their abilities have one specific thing in common. They are hard to control and actively dangerous, Noah no exception. Once a lucrative producer in Hollywood, Noah Teller has carved a rather nice life out for himself. He manifested young, at seventeen, able to disrupt the molecular make up of any item he touches, essentially breaking it down or, in the case of organic material, rotting it away. It is a crude and extremely violent power that Noah has tempered with class and pure force of will. It's become something of an artform for him, though it does create a bit of distance between him and other people. Can't have any accidents, can we? His time with Lotte Cassidy was meaningless and forgotten nearly before it was over. He is unaware that he has a daughter and wouldn't care if he did. He's not really the family type. He might be persuaded to reach out if he knew she was a Special, however, if only to warn her about the family trait. He's not completely heartless, after all. * Felice Cassidy - Felice has three years on Kerr and a significantly more savvy personality. She knows how to play the game, arrogant and hauty, often without the resume to back it up. She has had little success as an actress, performing mostly in commercials and the occasional extra role in different low budget movies. To her, however, this is proof of her superiority over not only Kerr, but her mother who failed to accomplish even that much. Felice labors under the misapprehension that she is somehow important. Her next "big break" is always around the corner and, oddly like her sister, she is hopelessly optimistic. It is one of the only traits this particular family shares. Felice is detached and indifferent towards her little sister and, to be honest, finds her odd. They are estranged but without any bad feelings between them. Felice continutes thinking the world revolves around her and working as a waitress between acting gigs. The Notel Motel The NoMo is a two level dump that is run by a creep and inhabited by LA's finest. Aside from the shady clientele, the shody plumbing, iffy electrical work, and pest/vermin infestation, it's not half bad. Kerr lives on the ground floor, room 103, directly below Horace and Harry, a pair of heroine addicts that have a hook up for everything from drugs to pokemon cards to gossip. Across the hall is Lucy, one of the NoMo's many working girls, though the only one that calls it home. Lucy is a chain smoker and total potty mouth, but when she's sober she's rather endearing. Category:Characters Category:Neutral